What amount of money would make you comfortable?

[fronton]

The way I see it, there are at least two serious issues with 'making more'. 1. You can more easily and often buy what you want, which makes you less content with whatever you just bought, which makes you want the next bigger better version, which costs more but since you are now accustomed to getting what you want, you feel even more empty if you can't have it. So this leads you down the sickening spiral of nothing ever being "enough". 2. You have to worry about protecting and maintaining wealth and a higher lifestyle which is far more stressful than just not having.

Also, the more you make, the greater percentage the government takes and it is so aggravating that my wife just quit her job because we actually net less with her working than if she didn't work at all. That is what is SO SICKENING about our tax system - it demotivates work ethic.

My point is that comparison is the thief of joy. Two killers in our society are the same killers that plague the world since the fall of man: ignorance and want.

[poopin04]

Man, if I lived anywhere outside of fucking NYC I would be sitting pretty right now. Unfortunately errrfuckingthing is expensive here. But I wouldn't leave NYC, I love the convenience and that's why I bust my ass everyday to make sure I can afford the lil things I can and still maintain to do things and buy things I don't need.

I'm currently employed as a Meeting/Events Coordinator, so I pretty much plan expos, conventions, seminars for my company along with 4 others and make between 38K - 42K a year. With that I currently own my e30 and my gf's e34. I not only pay for my car insurance for both but my parents cars too. Yeah I do live at home with them, but I do help pay for a little of everything, EZ-Pass (I rarely use), appliances, cable, internet and mortgage.

I always say if I can make at least 65K -70K I think I'd be damn well comfortable.

[rwh11385]

^This. Me and my wife were just as happy out of college making $60k per year combined as we are making $250k per year. We have more shit and can sort of buy what we want within reason and save a ton, but the level of happiness hasn't increased because of our income. Your level of happiness is mainly dependent on your state of mind, not your environment.
On the otherhand, my sister went from rags to riches instantly when she married a millionaire and her level of happiness has increased a little going from literally the edge of poverty to traveling somewhere exotic every week with her retired millionaire husband.

It's science. http://blogs.wsj.com/wealth/2010/09/...-75000-a-year/

"The magic income: $75,000 a year. As people earn more money, their day-to-day happiness rises. Until you hit $75,000. After that, it is just more stuff, with no gain in happiness.

“Giving people more income beyond 75K is not going to do much for their daily mood … but it is going to make them feel they have a better life,” Mr. Deaton told the Associated Press."

Your expenses go up with your income. Make 50k a year, struggle to buy a house. Make 150k a year, struggle to maintain mortgage, new cars and kids. More money unless you get a hell of a lot of it doesn't make problems disappear....although I'd take my chance with 150 vs 50.

I don't think people necessarily have to give into income inflation and buy more and more expensive things. It's just common with Americans and those who pay attention to peer pressure. No one forces people to buy new cars, bigger houses, fancier clothes, or expensive services. Millionaire Next Door, etc.

I don't have a number and will always be pursuing some accomplishment rather than purely salary, even if I didn't need anything. I'd like to pay off everything and live simply, besides of course a track car. I do however believe I need $2.2M in my 401k to retire on. Even if I had double that in a bank right now, I'd still be doing what I'm doing though.

But as far as comfortable, I'd say I am now. Organized, good budgeting, and don't make large purchases without planning them out for 6+ months. Emergencies happen but that's what savings are for. Many more people could be comfortable if they learned to become more content with what they have, rather than focus on what they'd like or want.

"Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have."

[jason952]

Take home: 250k/yr isn't "rich", despite presidential drivel...

[Thizzelle]

more bs to deal with.

Trying to keep up with bills maintenance on multiple homes in multiple states/countries is an ordeal, as is keeping all the cars,boats,toys ect. Registered and insured. Liability sucks, worrying about people from things such as a small fender bender attempting to sue you for millions. That adds a new depth to the bs requiring both umbrella policies and keeping a few different attorneys on retainer. Remember we're in multiple states now so gone are the small hometown lawyers you're now retaining premium legal counsel with offices in several major cities who can practice in many states. Out of the woodwork come extremely distant family members who you don't know from adam claiming your money is actually theirs, scratch that down as another fun court battle likely to go on for years and cost you $$$. Then one morning at 4am you get a call from brazil with someone frantically yelling at you in a language you don't speak! Eventually when an md who actually speaks english gets on the phone you find that your grandpa has made his own way to brazil to visit friends, had a stroke and now needs some serious medical care in a foreign country. (did i mention i didn't even have a valid passport at the time) how do you get him home from brazil? Does the insurance cover air ambulance service from foreign countries? Can we just hire a doctor and nurse to accompany him on the family's plane? Can we even get an air ambulance to get him from brazil with out me having to go down there?


So um yeah. . .

How much to be comfortable you ask?

I'd give back every single penny, to have my mom and grandmother back, and have life back to where it was when i was still broke and oblivious.

mo money mo problems, also if you run your own businees your pretty much working 24/7.
Have fun

[samiam3356]

4.5 million would let me retire

I make good money at my work but unfortunately I'm not debt free. I will be in the next 2 years and that will give a new sense of freedom. Unfortunately the man owns me until then.

[Thizzelle]

Fucking women and kids are exspensive, but that doesn't stop poor people from having both.

[phreshkid]

$120.00

[nrubenstein]

Why would you be less content with the more you make? More management needed for all the money?

It's exposure, IMHO. The more that you have, the more doors are opened. And the further up you climb, the more chances you get to see new doors. Most people work to survive and don't think much beyond there, so they think in terms of "how do I survive comfortably.". That's readily evident in this thread. Once survival isn't a big issue, well, you can spend essentially unlimited m only on things you want, acquiring power, or acquiring security.

Also, the closer that you've come to new thresholds, the more you regret not getting there. If the financial crisis had happened about 12-months later, I would be a LOT wealthier now, for example. K and I do quite well, but I would have a hell of a lot more non-W2 income to supplement with. (2-3x what we make now, without interfering with our regular income, and regular inflation bumps.). Likewise, K would be a lot wealthier if some of her stock options had vested at slightly different times.

Believe me, I'm not looking for sympathy. I do well. K does well. We have plenty of money. But yeah, it's all about perspective. And I stand by my numbers from my first post.

[MoreMayhem]

The more you make, the less content you remain.

This is true to a point.

I wouldn't say I'm not content, but definitely as you earn more, you spend more.

I'm probably older than the average poster in this thread, but I've gone from scraping by as a student on a few hundred a week in the early 90's to now scraping by as a husband/father/homeowner on much, much more per week.

Keep your expenses low, save up and pay cash for everything except a house.

-MM

[bimmerteck]

Why would you be less content with the more you make? More management needed for all the money?

More BS to deal with.

Trying to keep up with bills maintenance on multiple homes in multiple states/countries is an ordeal, as is keeping all the cars,boats,toys ect. registered and insured. Liability sucks, worrying about people from things such as a small fender bender attempting to sue you for millions. That adds a new depth to the BS requiring both umbrella policies and keeping a few different attorneys on retainer. Remember we're in multiple states now so gone are the small hometown lawyers you're now retaining premium legal counsel with offices in several major cities who can practice in many states. Out of the woodwork come extremely distant family members who you don't know from Adam claiming your money is actually theirs, scratch that down as another fun court battle likely to go on for years and cost you $$$. Then one morning at 4am you get a call from Brazil with someone frantically yelling at you in a language you don't speak! Eventually when an MD who actually speaks English gets on the phone you find that your grandpa has made his own way to Brazil to visit friends, had a stroke and now needs some serious medical care in a foreign country. (did I mention I didn't even have a valid passport at the time) How do you get him home from Brazil? Does the insurance cover air ambulance service from foreign countries? Can we just hire a doctor and nurse to accompany him on the family's plane? Can we even get an air ambulance to get him from Brazil with out me having to go down there?


So um yeah. . .

How much to be comfortable you ask?

I'd give back every single penny, to have my mom and grandmother back, and have life back to where it was when I was still broke and oblivious.

[herbivor]

Your expenses go up with your income. Make 50k a year, struggle to buy a house. Make 150k a year, struggle to maintain mortgage, new cars and kids. More money unless you get a hell of a lot of it doesn't make problems disappear....although I'd take my chance with 150 vs 50.

^This. Me and my wife were just as happy out of college making $60k per year combined as we are making $250k per year. We have more shit and can sort of buy what we want within reason and save a ton, but the level of happiness hasn't increased because of our income. Your level of happiness is mainly dependent on your state of mind, not your environment.
On the otherhand, my sister went from rags to riches instantly when she married a millionaire and her level of happiness has increased a little going from literally the edge of poverty to traveling somewhere exotic every week with her retired millionaire husband.

[nickpro]

The more you make, the less content you remain.

Maybe I'm wrong, I feel like the only people that say this have never had to struggle to pay bills. I know all my friends at school who have the mindset that "They don't care about money, they just want to do what makes them happy for a living" grew up rather comfortable.

I know money could make me happy at the moment. Being able to buy what I want and need would be nice.

19, school full time, work 30 hours a week, commute 45 min-an hour to school one way. It's not fun. But I'll be out with a masters, a teaching certificate and a BA in photo.

Like someone else said, I'm not busting my ass now to graduate making 50k a year. Goal is 70k first year out, and up from there.

[chadthestampede]

Your expenses go up with your income. Make 50k a year, struggle to buy a house. Make 150k a year, struggle to maintain mortgage, new cars and kids. More money unless you get a hell of a lot of it doesn't make problems disappear....although I'd take my chance with 150 vs 50.

aka mo money mo problems

Today, about 60k would pay off all my student loans and other debt. Scary.

[mrsleeve]

Why would you be less content with the more you make? More management needed for all the money?

Greed

The more you make the more you want.


Something I understand 1st hand. Have had to learn too keep my self in check. I have nearly sextoupled my anual income from 5 years ago in thaT short amount of time. Sometimes its hard to remember just "cuz". You want it is not a good enough reason to buy it and to be happy with the shit you have